Cane-conveyer.



T. J. WEST.

CANE GONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1913. 1,094,281. Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Hill] T. J. WEST.

CANE GONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1913.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

a%l "ligl/ T. J. WEST.

CANE GONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1913.

1,094,281. Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

3 SHEETSSHBET 3.

I m )l ll .T omas Jlflssi' 1; an STATES PATENT orricn.

THOMAS J. WEST, OF MAKAWELI, TEBRITDRY OF HAWAII.

CANE-CONVE-YER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS J. VEST, a citizen of the United States, residing at Makaweli, in the county of Kauai and Territory of Hawaii, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cane- Conveyers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cane conveyers for use in cane loading operations, and it proposes a structure which may be used without substantial change in its organization either as a conveyer or as a loader. In practice, a number of these structures will be arranged in a train, and the one imi'nediately adjacent the cane car will serve as a loader, that is to say, it will directly transfer the cane to the car while the others will serve as conveyers and will progressively and continuously advance the cane to the loader. It will, therefore, be understood that the designation conveyer, as applied to a unit of the train, is not intended to carry any limitation as to the particular use of the unit, but is applicable to the unit which functions as a loader as well as to the unit or units which function as mere conveyers.

The object of the invention is to provide a cane conveyer for use as stated which shall be of exceedingly simple and durable construction and particularly light in weight, in order that it may be readily moved across rough fields by mules or other draft animals without any danger of racking or injuring its-parts; which includes novel means operable to adjust the elevation of the. conveyer belt as the conditions of use may require and to compactly fold said belt upon itself during the transport of the conveyer for the purpose of economizing space and head room and of otherwise'rendering the structure readily portable; and wherein the organization is such that a number of the elements, when arranged to form a train, may have their conveyer belts operatively interconnected so that but a single driving motor is required for all of said belts.

An embodiment of the invention is illus. trated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is 'a side elevation illustrating a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 20, 1913.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

Serial No. 790,905.

train of conveyors in which the features of the invention are incorporated, one of the conveyers serving as a loader; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the loading conveyer, the conveyer belt being broken away to expose the parts over which it passes; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the loading conveyer on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the intermediate conveyers of the train; Fig. 6 is a side elevation thereof with parts in section, and showing also the operative connections between the conveyor belts of the adjoining trains; and Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating structural details of the conveyer belt.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

To differentiate the structural units shown in Fig. 1, the one adjacent the cane car and which, as stated, functions as a loader, is designated A, while the other one, which functions as a conveyer and carries cane to the loading'conveyer A, is designated B. The conveyors A. and B are similar in construction, so that the following description (except as to a minor feature to be pointed out) will be applicable to both.

The conveyor includes a relatively light rectangular frame 1 provided at suitable intervals with cross bars 2 and mounted upon traction wheels 3; and an endless conveyer belt, designated generally by 4, which passes over rollers 5 and 6 located adjacent the respective front and rear ends of the frame 1. The belt 4: preferably comprises a pair of side chains '7 which. engage sprocket wheels 8 provided at the ends of the rollers 5 and 6 and an intermediate cane supporting portion 9 which is of basket like structure, including longitudinal and cross wires or chains which intersect and are suitably articulated at their points of intersection. The cross wires or chains of the cane supporting portion 9 are suitably connected to the links of the chains 7. At the intersections of said longitudinal and cross wires or chains suitable spurs or fingers 10 may be provided for the purpose of securing an orderly arrangement of the cane upon the conveyer belts.

The roller 6 is conveniently mounted upon the axle 11 of the rear traction wheels. The roller is mountedupon an axis or red 12, which, in turn, is carried by a pair of arms 13, pivotally secured to the respective side bars of the frame 1 adjacent the axle of the front traction wheels. The support for the arms 13 comprises blocks 14 and links 15 connecting said arms and said blocks. The blocks 14 are movable longitudinally of the frame 1 in order to extend or to fold the conveyer belts. For this purpose the blocks 14 are preferably formed as nuts and are mounted upon screw shafts 16 located adj a cent the respective side bars of the frame 1 and journaled in bearings secured to said side bars. The shafts 16 may be operated in any suitable manner, for example, by hand wheels 17 through the intermediary of miter gearing 18.

At the rear end of the conveyer 4 and adjacent the side bars of the frame 1, upright shields 19 may be provided to confine the cane as it falls upon the conveyer belt from the belt immediately in the rear thereof and to thus prevent any of the cane, at the side of the belt, from falling upon the ground during its passage from one belt to another.

In order to operatively connect the belts 4 when the conveyers are arranged as a train, the roller 5 of the conveyer B is provided with a sprocket wheel 20, located adjacent one of the sprocket wheels 8 and the roller 6 of the conveyer A is provided with a similarly located sprocket wheel 21, the sprocket wheels 20 and 21 being connected by achain 22. The power for driving the conveyer belts may be taken from any suitable motor, a. g. a traction engine, and may be applied at any suitable point. For example, the roller 5 of the conveyer B may be provided with a sprocket wheel 23 located at the end opposite to that with which the sprocket wheel 20 is associated and connected by a chain to the motor aforesaid. Should there be more than two conveyers in the train, the remaining conveyers will have their belts successively connected in the manner explained. Thus, the roller 6 of the conveyer B is also provided with a sprocket wheel 21 which forms an element of the operative connections between the belt of the conveyer B and any conveyer that may be immediately in the rear thereof. The only diiference between the conveyers A and B is that there is no occasion for providing the roller 5 of conveyer A with the sprocket wheels 20 and 23.

In order to steady the conveyers during use and to relieve the frames and the connected parts from vibrations and stresses, the side bars of the frames are preferably provided with props 24, these being pivoted to said side bars, and when the conveyers are in use, being dropped to engage the ground. Suitable catches 25 are provided on the side bars to support the props 24 when the conveyers are not in use, or are being drawn across the field.

In use, the conveyer belt of the conveyer A overhangs the cane car 0 and is overhung by the belt of the conveyer B. The belts 4 are inclined forwardly and upwardly and are positively supported in this relation. When the loading operation has been completed, and it is desired to move the conveyers across the fields, the shafts 16 are operated to move the blocks 14 toward the rear ends of the conveyers and through the intermediary of the links 15 to fold the belts 4 upon themselves. lVhen folded, the belts lie nearly or substantially fiat upon the frames 1 and are prevented from sagging by the cross bars 2. To extend the belts, the blocks 14 are moved toward the front ends of the conveyers until the belts are substantially taut and have the relation shown in the drawings.

The construction described is of such nature that cane may be loaded upon the corn veyers at opposite sides thereof and will be disposed in orderly fashion upon the belts.

The invention is not limited to the precise details illust 'ated, but includes within its scope various minor changes which will not affect the principles involved.

Having fully described my invent-ion, I claim:

1. A cane conveyer comprising a rectangular frame, an endless conveyer belt, transverse rollers arranged adjacent the ends of said frame and over which said belt passes, a pair of arms carrying one of the rollers and pivoted to said frame for movement in the longitudinal plane thereof, blocks slidable longitudinally of said frame, and links connecting said blocks and said arms.

2. A cane conveyer comprising a rectangular frame, an endless conveyer belt, transverse rollers arranged adjacent the ends of said frame and over which said belt passes, a pair of arms carrying one of the rollers and pivoted to said frame for movement in the longitudinal plane thereof, rotatable screw shafts carried by said frame and extending longitudinally thereof, blocks mounted on said screw shafts and movable longitudinally thereof, and links connecting said blocks and said arms.

3. A cane conveyer comprising a rectangular frame, an endless conveyer belt, transverse rollers arranged adjacent the ends of said frame and over which said belt passes, a

pair of arms carrying one of the rollers and In testimony whereof I have hereunto set pivoted to said frame for movement in the my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- 10 longituginai plaine tciliefreof, blocixs slidable nesses.

longitn ina 1y 0 sai rame, lin s connecting said blocks and said arms, and traction THOMAS WEST Wheels supporting said frame, the roller at Witnesses:

the rear end of the frame being mounted WILLARD D. PEoK,

upon the axle of the rear traction Wheels. PAULL S. HUNTER.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

